Molding Fruit

Problem Scenario

I saw an idea for an experiment about molding bread and decided to turn it into my own and changed bread to fruit. I started researching what fruit molds and what kind of mold forms on fruit. I decided to get bananas, pears and apples because they are the most common fruit that are held in a household and most people don't know how long it takes for them to mold.

Broad Question:

Which fruit molds the fastest after bitten?

Specific Question:

Which fruit, banana, pear or apple, will mold faster after bitten and left exposed to air for two weeks? Does fruit type effect mold growth?

Hypothesis

I hypothesis that bananas will mold the fast after bitten and left out and exposed to air?

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Type of fruit

Dependent Variable:

Time to mold

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Bite size, place left exposed to air, room temperature

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Mold;
1. Any of various fungi that often cause disintegration of organic matter.
2. The growth of such fungi.

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General Plan

In my project I will be molding fruit that is exposed to air. To make this happen, I have to buy a box, two apples, bananas and pears, and I will have to take an equal size bite out of each fruit and place them in a room temperature area such as my kitchen. I will need to wait for two weeks and see if any mold has grew. Every other day, I will take notes about the change that had occured and take a before and after picture of the fruit to show how the air has transformed them.

Potential Problems And Solutions

In the period of time i have until this experiment needs to be finished (March 1st), I need to make sure I get some results. If i don't, I will need to start the project over with a new target. Such as; Which fruit dries out faster. Making sure this experiment goes right, I have two pieces of each fruit so there is an equal chance. The fruit might not mold and just decompose without any conclusion for my hypothesis.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Mold might cause sickness due to fumes. I need to throw away the fruit once it molds.

Experimental Design;

Controlled, manipulated experiment

What is your experimental unit?

Molding Fruit
Number Of Trials:
One
Number Of Subjects In Each trial:
Six

Number of Observations:

Fourteen

When data will be collected

2-4-13

Where will data be collected?:

At my house in the kitchen

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Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Apple	2	hannaford	2.19
Pear	2	hannaford	2.19
Banana	2	hannaford	1.00

Detailed Procedure

1) I will buy materials; 2 Red Delicious Apples, Pears, and Bananas.I will find a cardboard box and charged camera to take pictures of the changes
2) I'll take a bite of each apple, pear and banana, the same bite size.
3) I will put all the fruit in the box
4) I will leave them there for 2 weeks, recording the changes in a notebook and taking pictures.
5) If there are no results by the end of the 2 weeks. I will restart my project with a new target.

Diagram

Photo List

Before and after pictures of the effects with bananas, apples and pears being exposed to air.

Time Line

On February 4th, I will start my project. Everyday, I will take a picture of the results and record the things that occur on the pieces of fruit so far. It will take about two weeks IF I get results. If I do not get results, I will restart it with a different target.

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Data Table

Fruit Type	Day of Worst Condition
Apple	10
Banana	8
Pear	14

Days of Worst Condition: The apple and banana did not change after the days graphed. The apple did not show anymore changes after day 10. Banana did not show any changes after 8 days and the pear on the last day grew mold, which was the last day of the experiment.

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

Day 14; last day pear molded

Photos

Before

After 2 weeks

Results

After leaving the 6 pieces of fruit exposed to air for two weeks, they did react to being left out in air after being bitten, but only one fruit molded; which was the pear. Both pears did mold, and the apple, or banana did not mold but they did change quite a lot. They all became brown and dried out; causing the skin to wrinkle and become very delicate. The apples; did not react the same as the pear, they only became a little bit brown and did wrinkle but did not mold. The banana; grew very brown and dry. It became so dry that it started to shrink and was like a large banana chip. The pear; reacted the fastest in molding and became very wrinkly around the edges of where I took a bite. They began to shribble up and lost their light and also formed a whitish-blue mold.

Conclusion

The pear, out of red delicious apple and banana, molded the fastest in the two weeks I left them exposed to air.

Discussion

Did your experiement have any problems or did the data contain any errors?: No my project worked out perfectly, the fruit molded in the short period of time I let it.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

It shows whether fruit type effects the growth of mold after being exposed to air.

Background Research

Studies show that fruit molds faster in room temperature than when in the fridge. Molds are microscopic organisms found virtually everywhere, indoors and outdoors. Mold is alive, but it is neither a plant nor an animal. Mold is a type of fungus. It is part of a group of living organisms that are very common and serve an important role in the environment. Penicillin, an antibiotic that has saved many lives, is a type of mold, as is yeast. Mold is formed by microscopic creatures belonging to the Fungi Kingdom. When tiny airborne spores of mold burst, and then land on a favorable surface, they proliferate into visible colonies, and find new favorable surfaces on which to further develop. Mold seeks MOISTURE, WARMTH, and FOOD, and all three conditions are necessary for it to grow. Mold is most likely to find a place to grow in a bathroom, basement or kitchen, but it can grow in other rooms if conditions are favorable. The climate where you live and the living habits in your household can affect the ability of mold to grow.Mold spores can thrive and reproduce in wet or damp parts of your home: areas that have had flooding or where leakage has occurred in roofs, pipes, or walls, or areas around house plants, especially ones that sometimes are over-watered. In just 48 hours, a moist environment combined with room-temperature conditions and an organic food source can lead to mold growth.

References

www.foodreference.com/html/mold-on-food.html

Abstract

Mold is a normal part of food as it ages. It grows on almost all foods because it is set in motion when the food is exposed to excessive oxygen. However, there are specific foods that grow mold more quickly than others, and conditions in which they are more likely to mold. In my experiment I tested whether fruit type effects mold growth. It came to conclusion that in fact fruit type does effect mold growth. I tested two apples, pears and bananas, which were all exposed to air the same amount of time. They each did react to the excessive oxygen they were exposed to, each of them wrinkled and